Josephine Turner
Josephine (Cupina) Urtuzuastegui Turner, 89, passed away peacefully on Dec. 26, 2024, leaving behind a legacy of snark, laughter, and empty threats to “beat you up one side and down the other.” Born Nov. 28, 1935, in Somerton, Arizona, she lived a life as colorful as her personality, blending love, humor, and a relentless ability to tell it like it is.
Josephine proudly graduated from Yuma High School, where the mascot fittingly was “The Criminals,” before earning her degree from Arizona State University and becoming a lifelong “Sun Devil”. She spent her early years shaping young minds as a primary school teacher, with her ever-creative approaches to teaching reading, math, and song and dance, reaching hundreds of young students in her beloved home of Kearny, Arizona. Teaching was her passion, but it was nothing compared to her lifelong devotion to her family, who served as her greatest joy—and occasional punching bags for her legendary wit.
Her happiest years, surprisingly, came in the last several years when Alzheimer’s offered her the freedom to live fully in the moment. She filled her days belting out her favorite songs on repeat. The family now considers these renditions unforgettable—partly because they’ve never been able to get the melodies out of their heads. She embraced her Alzheimer’s with the same gusto as everything else in her life, proving that even memory loss couldn’t dim her sharp tongue or larger-than-life presence.
She was a devoted wife, loving mother, doting grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (emphasis on the ‘great’). Her favorite people were always under the age of 7, whose sticky fingers and innocent hearts brought her the most joy. She adored them so much, although no one was remis from being on the receiving end of her famous question: “Did you wash your hands?” after using the bathroom. Spoiler alert: she didn’t care who it was, she was going to ask no matter what.
Josephine’s titles of “criminal” and “devil” weren’t just from her alma maters. Her quick wit and empty threats kept her family in line – and occasionally on edge—throughout her life. No one was exempt from her quick-witted jokes nor her spontaneous live performances.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Henry Turner, and cherished daughter, Mary, and numerous brothers and sisters who are undoubtedly bracing in unison as they prepare for her arrival. She is survived by her older sister, Trini; daughters, Myrna and Jo Etta (Joe); six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and a great-great granddaughter. She also leaves behind a community of friends and loved ones who will forever miss her laugh, her sarcasm, and her absolute refusal to sugarcoat anything.
Today is when mourners are encouraged to sing her favorite songs on repeat, share stories of her wit, and wash their hands—seriously, she’d want that.
Rest in peace, Josephine. You were a one-of-a-kind legend. Heaven just gained its snarkiest angel—or perhaps its most charming “devil”. Either way, they’d better be ready for her.
Services were held on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, at the Infant Jesus of Prague Catholic Church in Kearny, AZ.